Champion and Iron
by SerenityFalconNormandy
Summary: Written based on the Dragon Age Reddit Weekly Writing Prompt: Write an occurrence of your character completely losing it. When Vivienne decides to take Marian Hawke to task for the events in Kirkwall, things go much differently than she had planned.


Varric had the book slammed open almost as soon as he noticed that Madame de Fer spotted Hawke. The erstwhile Champion of Kirkwall had been spending most of her time at Skyhold in the Herald's Rest with the Chargers and Iron Bull, taking comfort in the familiarity of the surrounding and company, even if it was considerably cleaner than the Hanged Man. However, Fen'lath had asked for her input on some situation or another, so she was in the hall.

Vivienne had been spoiling for something to bring attention back to her since her dressing-down from the Inquisitor. Despite her influence causing a surge in popularity for Antivan goods and the like, since the incident, the Iron Lady herself had been almost patently _ignored_ by Fen'lath. She was spending more and more time with Marian Hawke and Lady Enchanter Amell, and Vivienne's own influence was waning considerably, despite the Inquisitor following through with her recommendation to make that wretched magister Tranquil. Now, the apostate responsible for allowing the abomination who caused this whole mess to run free, and indirectly snatched the glory of being First Enchanter from her was in her sights, and she was ready to make her move in the Game.

She had sat in her little alcove above the hall with no visitors of note for _far_ too long. The rebel mages certainly wanted nothing to do with her, and even those who had been loyalists in the beginning were starting to fall under Fiona's sway. Vivienne was certain the kettle was getting close to the boiling point and abominations were inevitable. She would give the Champion the dressing-down she richly deserved, and those present in the hall who held the Circles close to their hearts for protecting mages would surely come to her side.

The siege at Adamant had been difficult on all of them, and Marian felt the exhaustion dragging on her, making her nauseated even as she simply sat next to Cullen and listened to him outlining the steps he'd taken to come off of lyrium after leaving Kirkwall. Carver was on the smallest amounts he could manage, but he would need to come off it eventually himself. She wanted to make sure that between Merrill's skills with herbs, potions, and poultices, as well as her own healing skills, he was as comfortable as possible and it was a smooth transition.

"It's a sad day when the last scion of so noble a family as the Strouds, and a man who was every inch an example of what a Chevalier should aspire to be, is considered more expendable than _you_ , 'Champion of Kirkwall'."

Marian blinked up at the other mage, shocked to silence.

"So you have nothing to say for yourself? Exactly what I would expect from the woman who allowed that abomination Anders to run roughshod over Kirkwall for so long, only ridding the world of him when his body count included a Grand Cleric."

Rage roared up to replace the shock, and Marian stood abruptly, shooting the bench back and nearly throwing Cullen off of it. Red tinged her sight and blood roared in her ears as she snarled, "What did you say? I offered to stay, as did Jean Marc. The Inquisitor made her choice."

The hall silenced, watching the Champion and the Iron Lady square off. Satisfaction sparked in Vivienne's eyes, and she purred, "Really, such a temper, my dear. How a half-trained apostate like you managed to avoid becoming a blood magic using _abomination_ I'll never know. At least Anders had Circle training, though he chose to ignore it. Grand Cleric Elthina should never have let you remain outside the Circle un-Harrowed once you were known to be a mage, and Anders executed on sight. Poor lady, it was her greatest mistake."

"How dare you? I protected Kirkwall from the results of Elthina's dithering over Meredith Stannard for years." Marian was so angry she could barely form coherent words. "Meredith would have made me Tranquil within days, if not hours of clapping me in the Gallows, and _you know it_. Anders kept Darktown from breaking out in a plague right up until the end, when Vengeance took over. The Templars in Kirkwall were corrupt, and forced the hands of too many who were _legitimately_ afraid for their lives and their hope of freedom from the brand."

Cullen made as if to say something, only to be interrupted by Vivienne. "Kirkwall and the Gallows may have been in a bad way, but _nothing_ excuses the behavior of any of the mages there. When the next Divine is elected, and I am working _diligently_ towards this, my hope is that the Circles are reinstated with proper oversight. Hopefully they will prevent you from foisting any more mistakes on this world, either in terms of abominations, or, Maker forbid, by _reproducing_. It's plain to see letting mage children be raised outside the Circle's purview is catastrophic."

Marian's shoulders stiffened, and the roaring in her ears became deafening. If the Circles ever came back… Maker, if they found out about Maureva, they'd take her away. If she were to show signs of being a mage as she got older, she'd be made Tranquil just on principle because of the markings. Trying not to let her anxiety over her daughter show, she breathed out, "I worked hard to protect everyone, you have _no idea_ what Kirkwall does to people. I killed my fair share of the blood mages, you know."

Vivienne gave her an icy smile, "All your ' _hard work_ ' didn't save your mother, did it?"

With a scream, Marian vaulted the table and threw a punch that caught the other mage square across the jaw. She reeled back, a shocked hand flying to the side of her face and she screeched, "Commander, _stop_ her! She's become an abomination!"

Cullen reached for her, shouting something Marian couldn't understand over the sickly whispers of demons recognizing a chance at freedom from the Fade. Vivienne had apparently forgotten that she had been able to get by in Kirkwall for years because she knew how to fight without magic. Her sleeve tore off in Cullen's grip as she lunged forward.

Vivienne's eyes widened when she realized that Cullen wasn't going to just Smite first and ask questions later. Reeling from her misstep, she needed to get out of reach of the other woman. Magic she was plenty confident of defending herself from and had been expecting, even hoping to force Marian over the edge and prove that apostates couldn't be trusted. Going up physically against a woman who had learned how to scrap like a farmhand and wield a halberd for a staff to hide that she was a mage would not end well for her. As undignified as it was, Vivienne turned and ran. Marian was hot on her heels, and Vivienne nearly took out Solas as she raced through the rotunda. She fled up the stairs and slammed the door to her balcony, icing it over and reinforcing it with a barrier.

Marian's luck with stairs struck, exacerbated by the exhaustion, and her boot slipped off the lip of a stair tread, sending her crashing forward. This time there was no lovestruck elf to catch her, and her forehead bounced of the lip of another, sending a shower of stars through her vision before the world went dark.

Cullen found her there on the stairs and his stomach churned when he rolled her over and saw the deep gash across her forehead. Solas gently elbowed him aside to set to work healing her, muttering that it was not safe to move Marian until he was sure doing so wouldn't cause more damage. After a few moments, he nodded at Cullen, lips pressed together unhappily. They shared a glare at the ice-rimed door, which muffled Vivienne's flustered screaming about abominations and apostate troublemakers. The Inquisitor would deal with her in time; they needed to focus on Marian.

Marian blinked, taking in the sleeping elf in the chair pulled up next to her bed. A sob caught in her throat because it wasn't Fenris. He was back in Starkhaven with Maureva. Her head ached, and she wanted to vomit from the aftereffects of the pure rage that had been coursing through her. She hadn't lost her temper like that in years. Suddenly, it was overwhelming and she stumbled past Solas as he woke, blinking owlishly at her as she barely made it to the water closet.

A hand limned with frost rested gently on the back of her neck as she gasped against another bout of nausea. "It will pass, don't fight it."

"I'm leaving as soon as I can. Vivienne isn't the only one who thinks Kirkwall is my fault." Her eyes watered and she rested her newly-healed forehead against her knees as she sank down to the floor. Her voice cracked as she whispered out, " _That includes me_."


End file.
